Indonesia bows to rule of the rod

By Aussiegirl

When is our government going to wake up to the fact that we are not at war with "terrorism" -- we are at war with Islam itself, which is becoming increasingly violent and repressive in even previously moderate places like Indonesia. Look to Iraq and Afghanistan taking this same road. It's already happening in Afghanistan, and Sharia is the de-facto law of the land in Iraq. Even in these places where we have installed what should be western-friendly "liberal" democracies, the evils of Islam eventually overwhelm all decency.

And I ask again -- why is our government building a huge multi-million dollar mosque and Islamic cultural center at Quantico Marine base, when there are only 28 Muslim soldiers there? It is insanity that will only result in more of our troops being brainwashed into this cult, and will decay our military from the inside out. This nonsense must cease. We must not even allow Muslims to serve in the military in any combat capacity as long as this war is ongoing. Their loyalties are divided and they cannot be trusted

Scotland on Sunday - International - Indonesia bows to rule of the rod

Indonesia bows to rule of the rod
JANE PERLEZ
BANDA ACEH

ACROSS Indonesia's most religious of provinces, the sight of brown uniformed policemen has come to signify one thing. The brutal enforcement of Sharia law which is raising fears about the future of the world's most populous Muslim country.

They haul unmarried couples into precincts and arrest people for drinking or gambling. Increasingly, many of the cases are pushed to the ultimate conclusion, public canings at mosques in front of excited crowds.

In mid-July, a 27-year-old man sentenced to 40 lashes fainted on the seventh stroke of a rattan cane from a hooded man in the yard of a mosque here in the provincial capital.

The caning was televised nationally, with a presenter saying that the man, who had been arrested for drinking at a beachside stall, would receive the remainder of his punishment once he had recovered.

Battered by the Asian tsunami 19 months ago, Aceh is undergoing a profound transformation that is likely to have considerable impact on the nature of Islam in Indonesia.

For centuries Indonesia has been known for the open-minded, sometimes freewheeling, interpretation of its dominant religion. That is changing as moderate Muslims find themselves under siege from more orthodox proponents, and as the moderates are hesitant to push back.

Aceh, where Islam has always been more rigorously observed, is the first of Indonesia's 33 provinces to put Sharia law on to the books. Special Sharia courts established to mete out punishments have been operating for a year. [....]